Approximately 85,000 tourists in the USA, Europe, North Africa, and the Caribbean have been forced to return home from vacations that barely began, as the British agency that organized their travel, XL Leisure Group, collapsed overnight, and special flights were grounded, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Hundreds of families wandered through airports around the world trying to board the first flight home, while others in Britain learned at the last minute, just before departure, that their plans had fallen through and that their trip would not happen. "I am furious. Just yesterday they were taking money for arrangements. This is robbery," said 42-year-old Londoner Terry Baldwin. Damon Emery, who was traveling with his wife and two children, described how they were about to take off from the airport when two police cars stopped the aircraft, and the captain told them they were returning to the terminal. Mass layoffs have been announced at XL. In the UK, 1,700 people could lose their jobs at the company.(H)
